BTCC: Brands Hatch: Vauxhall Motorsport preview

Vauxhall aims high
"Make no bones about it, we hope to carry on where we left off last
season."
Bold words from Vauxhall Motorsport Team Manager, Ian Harrison, but they
sum up perfectly the mood in the Vauxhall camp as team and drivers
prepare...

Vauxhall aims high

"Make no bones about it, we hope to carry on where we left off last
season."

Bold words from Vauxhall Motorsport Team Manager, Ian Harrison, but they
sum up perfectly the mood in the Vauxhall camp as team and drivers
prepare for the opening round of the Green Flag MSA British Touring Car
Championship which takes place this Easter Bank Holiday weekend at Kent's
Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

It is almost six months since the mighty Astra Coupés of reigning
champions, Vauxhall, took to a race circuit in anger and after a winter
of re-designing, refining and rigorous testing, it is time for the Astra
Coupés to defend their titles and reputation against some of the
staunchest competition the BTCC has seen for years. Britain's premiere
motor racing series, the British Touring Car Championship is about to
begin.

The ten-round BTCC will feature no less than six Vauxhall Astra Coupés
this year with Vauxhall Motorsport's aces, Briton, James Thompson and
Frenchman, Yvan Muller headlining the act. Although starting his ninth
consecutive year in the BTCC, Yorkshireman, Thompson is chomping at the
bit to get out there this weekend; "It's been a long build-up and it will
be nice to get the first round under my belt. I'm really looking forward
to getting the competition started."

Driving alongside the Vauxhall Motorsport duo in the Egg Sport Team Astra
Coupés is four-times Independent's Champion, Matt Neal and Liverpudlian,
Paul O'Neill. Whilst O'Neill graduates from the production class and will
be using the year to gain as much experience as possible, Birmingham's
Matt Neal can be expected to be running right in the thick of it. And
completing the set in two Barwell Motorsport-run Astra Coupés is
17-year-old, Tom Chilton and World Superbike star, Aaron Slight.

The race against time to make Vauxhall's 2002 challenger another genuine
title contender has been tight but the Triple Eight Race Engineering
prepared and run Astra Coupés have once again dominated pre-season
testing with Matt Neal and James Thompson topping the times at the
Silverstone and Brands Hatch TOCA tests respectively. However, Team
Manager, Harrison has his feet firmly planted on the ground and his
desire to prove the Astra Coupé capable of a repeat of its 2001
performance is quelled with a dose of realism.

"We do hope to carry on where we left off last season but whether or not
the opposition will let us, we don't know yet! It won't be until after
Monday's races have been won or lost, that the size of the battle ahead
will become apparent and we are making no assumptions about our chances
this year," said Harrison.

"What I can say, however, is that there will be no team orders and I
expect all our drivers to give everything they've got. The pressure is
on," Harrison concludes.